A/N: Originally posted on IYFic Contest for their prompt Misshapen. Won second position.
Misshapen – her deep desires that live in uneasy cohabitation with her miko duties – forbidden thoughts that, like will o' the wisps, entice and tantalize her, and yet float just out of her reach.
Misshapen – his suffocating obligation that keeps him from embracing life and love, goading him to chase after the mirage of a moment that was never meant to be – bindings that afford him neither happiness nor peace of mind.
Misshapen – that bandit's heart, like the unseemly lumps of flesh that cling to his form – relics of twisted emotions that at one time might have been lust or love, he wasn't sure what anymore.
Misshapen – her insecurities that cast a bizarre gloom inside her heart; shapeless dread of being abandoned, uncouth despair for being only a substitute, grotesque pain of one-sided love that obscures even the things that are plain to see.
Misshapen – the golden glimpses of a false future that life shows him at times, even being aware of his reality – the cold poison running through his veins, erasing his life faster than the lines drawn upon a sandy beach.
Misshapen – her fear, like the scar upon her back; the chilling thought of facing her own blood in battle, the horrid chance that it might be her weapon, which will mow him down – fear that does not let her belong to either friends or foe.
Misshapen – the goose egg on his head where Inuyasha had bopped him. That stupid dog…Shippou will make him pay for this!